Rep. Sommer: More guns do not lead to more violence

Where are these people getting their information? In her latest newsletter, Rep. Chrissy Sommer, R- St. Charles, says she has seen no studies that show more guns lead to more violence, says the number one weapon used in violent crimes is a baseball bat (would that also be the number one weapon for violent crimes resulting in deaths) and she repeats the crock that the best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun.

 One of the pieces of many pieces of legislation that the Missouri House passed in the last two weeks was House Bill 436, otherwise known as the Second Amendment Preservation Act. I am very proud to say that I was one of the co-sponsors on this piece of legislation and I wanted to go into a little more detail about what this bill does. 

This bill strongly states that all past, present, or future federal acts, laws, orders, rules, or regulations that infringe on the people’s right to keep and bear arms, as guaranteed by both the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 23 of the Missouri Constitution, are invalid, will not be recognized, are specifically rejected, and will be considered null and void and of no effect in this state. 

Now, many argue that more guns leads to more violence. I have not seen any studies that show this statement to be true. As a matter of fact, according to the FBI, the number one weapon used in violent crimes is a baseball bat. Yet there is no cry to ban baseball bats in America. 

I agree that we must help prevent another Sandy Hook. However, the surest way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun. One example my friend and colleague Rep. Bryan Spencer brought up this week on the floor was that in a place like Israel, where terrorism is a part of life on a daily basis, the teachers there are trained and they all carry firearms to protect their students. Now, I’m not saying we force teachers to carry firearms, but maybe we put a police officer in the school, or, maybe we allow teachers who choose to conceal carry to actually conceal carry on the premise. 

The fact is under no circumstances should we keep firearms away from law abiding citizens. This fundamental right is protected under the Constitution of the United States. The Patriots at Lexington and Concord fired the “Shot heard around the world” on April 18th, 1775 to stand up for those very liberties. The British were marching on Concord to confiscate their powder and arms. The Minutemen (not professional soldiers, citizens protecting their homes and rights derived from their Creator) stood up to the most powerful army in the world to protect those rights.